Quantifying social-ecological scale mismatches suggests people should be managed at broader scales than ecosystems

Mapping permits and ecological data across the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park allowed us to quantify and rigorously compare interacting social and ecological scales. Institutions (permits) and ecological systems both varied at multiple scales. The scales of permissions were typically bimodal and larger than ecological scales. Thus, we propose that effective management may have to occur at broader scales than ecological variation. Further comparable examples are needed for establishing the generality of this proposition

Understanding regulatory frameworks for large marine protected areas: permits of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Increasing numbers of large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are being added to the global conservation estate, raising new challenges for marine social-ecological management and biodiversity conservation. To better understand the importance of spatial heterogeneity and scale in managing LMPAs, we undertook a quantitative, spatially explicit analysis of permit data from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. We geo-registered 10,030 permissions from 7478 permits for the period 2007-2017, extracted the information into a 2 x 2 km grid, aggregated the data into six different permission types and explored spatial patterns by permission type and numbers. Permission numbers of different types were all strongly and significantly correlated; access and transport permissions were the most numerous. Commercial harvesting permission numbers were negatively correlated with those for research and education, but not for tourism. Apart from research permissions, the influence of the immediate biophysical environment (coral reefs, proximity to shore) at this scale was low; permission numbers were more influenced by proximity to towns and population density. There was also a broad-scale latitudinal effect, with higher permission numbers in the south, independent of the human geography variables that we measured. Permit numbers have been increasing exponentially over the last decade and show no sign of declining. More generally, our analysis shows how permit data can inform the management activities and needs of LMPAs, while potentially providing a window into long-term shifts in user demands and changing management needs for conservation

Perceptions of Australian marine protected area managers regarding the role, importance, and achievability of adaptation for managing the risks of climate change

The rapid development of adaptation as a mainstream strategy for managing the risks of climate change has led to the emergence of a broad range of adaptation policies and management strategies globally. However, the success of such policies or management interventions depends on the effective integration of new scientific research into the decision-making process. Ineffective communication between scientists and environmental decision makers represents one of the key barriers limiting the integration of science into the decision-making process in many areas of natural resource management. This can be overcome by understanding the perceptions of end users, so as to identify knowledge gaps and develop improved and targeted strategies for communication and engagement. We assessed what one group of environmental decision makers, Australian marine protected area (MPA) managers, viewed as the major risks associated with climate change, and their perceptions regarding the role, importance, and achievability of adaptation for managing these risks. We also assessed what these managers perceived as the role of science in managing the risks from climate change, and identified the factors that increased their trust in scientific information. We do so by quantitatively surveying 30 MPA managers across 3 Australian management agencies. We found that although MPA managers have a very strong awareness of the range and severity of risks posed by climate change, their understanding of adaptation as an option for managing these risks is less comprehensive. We also found that although MPA managers view science as a critical source of information for informing the decision-making process, it should be considered in context with other knowledge types such as community and cultural knowledge, and be impartial, evidence based, and pragmatic in outlining policy and management recommendations that are realistically achievable

Improving knowledge exchange among scientists and decision-makers to facilitate the adaptive governance of marine resources: A review of knowledge and research needs

The science-based management of natural resources requires knowledge exchange between scientists and environmental decision-makers, however, this exchange remains a significant challenge. Rather, evidence suggests that decision-makers rely on individual experience or other secondary sources of knowledge in isolation from scientific evidence when formulating decisions, potentially compromising the effectiveness of their decisions. As a result a new field of research broadly characterised as 'knowledge exchange' has emerged, focused largely on identifying and overcoming the barriers to knowledge exchange among scientists and decision-makers. More recently knowledge exchange research has also begun to explore the relationship between science and decision-making specifically in relation to marine ecosystems and resources. The aim of this paper is to review the literature in relation to knowledge exchange for natural resource management, with a focus on recent evidence in relation to the management of marine resources. This review identifies critical barriers inhibiting knowledge exchange among marine scientists and decisions-makers, such as the inaccessibility of science to decision-makers as well as institutional barriers that limit the extent to which scientists and decision-makers can prioritise knowledge exchange activities. Options for overcoming these barriers, such as novel approaches to knowledge exchange (e.g. - knowledge co-production, knowledge brokers and boundary organisations) and the enabling environments and institutional reforms needed to complement efforts to improve knowledge exchange, are also identified. This review concludes by articulating the gaps in our understanding of knowledge exchange, to help guide future research in this field and improve the sustainable management of marine resources